That Thing You Do!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Soundtrack]

Tom Hanks, Adam Schlesinger | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 24, 1996)
• Original Release Date: September 24, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002BQD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,101 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

TOM HANKS That Thing You Do! (1996 US AUTOGRAPHED 15-track soundtrack CD album for the comedy-drama musical film written and directed by Tom Hanks picture sleeve with deletion drill hole in the spine. The front of the sleeve has been signed by TOM HANKS in black marker pen EK67828)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Ficitional Slice of 1964, but Just a Lot of Fun..., June 28, 2004

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: That Thing You Do!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

I recently saw "That Thing You Do" again on DVD, the fictional story of the Oneders, later renamed the Wonders. It prompted me to buy the soundtrack, and what a delight it is.

"The Thing You Do" (15 tracks, 42 min.) brings us the 2 Wonders songs from the movie (title track, "Dance With Me Tonight") but also 3 other songs, giving us (according to the fictional liner notes) pretty much an idea what a Wonders' concert was like. The soundtrack gives us plenty of other fictional 1964-soundalike songs that simly work great ("She Knows It", "Voyage Around the Moon", and "Drive Faster" are among the highlights).

While it's true that Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger wrote the title track, even more noteworthy it that none other than Tom Hanks wrote or co-wrote 4 of the tracks on here, so the man obviously knew what he was doing when taking on this project (writing and directing the movie as well). Thanks for a great movie and a delicious soundtrack, Tom!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A time-transporting work of art, June 2, 2000

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: That Thing You Do!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

If the fictional Wonders' hit single "That Thing You Do," was the only cut on this soundtrack worthy of praise, it would be worth the disc's price. The title track is a brilliant invocation of mid-60s British-influenced American pop, worthy of having been a monster hit at the time of its fictional setting.

But the soundtrack is so much more than a one-hit wonder. Tom Hanks, together with co-writers, singers and producers, has created a bevy of tracks that recreate the brilliance of that era's music even more keenly than the film recreates the look and feel. Few such fictional music projects have ever been this complete.

From the opening track, the Mitch Miller like "Lovin You Lots and Lots" by the Norm Wooster Singers, Hanks gives notice that he and his co-workers have internalized the era's vast array of musical styles. It's as if their heads are so full of this music that they can't help but sing it out loud.

It's one huge loving nod to the music that populated the charts in the 60s -- perhaps the last gasp of truly varietous radio. Never again would such a wide range of sounds be heard on a single frequency, from the Dusty Springfield-esque vocals of Diane Dane and Shirelles-meet-the-Supremes singing of The Chantrellines, to the Frankie-and-Annette inspired beach tune of Cap'n Geech & The Shrimp Shack Shooters.

And amid all of this are The Wonders, a band that, despite the film's storyline, were anything but one hit wonders. The funky bassline of "Dance With Me Tonight" would have been home at any discoteque of the early 60s, and "I Need You (That Thing You Do)" is only the slightest notch less catchy than the title track. The 12-string strums and yearning harmonies catch every last ounce of emotion that fueled the best teen bands of the era.

Topping it all off, Hanks and Co. add biographies for the fictional bands, making it nearly impossible to believe it's all made up.

The film is good fun, but the soundtrack is a work of art.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I Brought You Here...For I Am Spartacus", November 7, 1998

By 

M. Craig (Charleston, WV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: That Thing You Do!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Audio CD)

That is what the drummer, "Shades" of the mythical rock band "The Wonders" says to the lead guitarist, when the guitarist asks"How did we get here?,"before the Wonders make their national television debut on a Sullivan-esque variety show. What happens next, is one of the happiest three minutes on film, as the Wonders perform their hit single, "That Thing You Do!" The movie captured the 60's so well, and the soundtrack is a terrific bonus! I put on this album, and get lost in the 60's. A smile instantly comes to my face as I remember the story of that pop band from Erie, Pennsylvania whose fate was changed by a replacement drummer . I love these guys, and they seem so real. I just wish they were. Go out and buy this CD...listen to it, and re-live Beatlemania!